CVE-2026-25501Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Remote process crash via unchecked report dereference

Published Feb 24, 2026 · Updated Feb 24, 2026

Null pointer dereference in free5GC SMF 1.4.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to crash the process via a malformed PFCP request. HandlePfcpSessionReportRequest trusts the DLDR flag and dereferences req.DownlinkDataReport without checking whether that IE exists, while the unprotected goroutine lets the panic terminate SMF. Exploitation requires PFCP access and a valid session SEID with UpCnxState set to DEACTIVATED; the demonstrated consequence is an SMF process crash.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.31%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Null pointer dereference in free5GC SMF 1.4.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to crash the process via a malformed PFCP request. HandlePfcpSessionReportRequest trusts the DLDR flag and dereferences req.DownlinkDataReport without checking whether that IE exists, while the unprotected goroutine lets the panic terminate SMF. Exploitation requires PFCP access and a valid session SEID with UpCnxState set to DEACTIVATED; the demonstrated consequence is an SMF process crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-25501
Published
Feb 24, 2026
Updated
Feb 24, 2026
Vendor
free5GC
Product
SMF
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=<= 1.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

free5GC · SMFversion=<= 1.4.1

Published CVSS scores

6.6GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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